The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at 糖心传媒 is excited to announce an online partnership with the Osher National Resource Center (NRC) at Northwestern University. The Osher NRC created Osher Online to expand member access, institute collaboration, share resources, and ensure the legacy of the Osher Institutes. The NRC delivers these classes, and its staff will provide moderator and technical assistance.
These courses:
- Give you access to highly qualified instructors from all over the country
- They are six weeks long (90 minutes each) and focus on diverse topics
- They are offered entirely online through Zoom
- They are comparable in price to our regular courses
- They are only available to OLLI members
- These courses will be listed in a separate section of our quarterly catalogs and may have a separate registration schedule.
Spring 2026 Osher Online Courses
OSHER ONLINE ONLY: Ghosts in the White House: The People Behind Presidential Speeches, with Diana Carlin
Monday, March 30, April 6, 13, 20, 27, and May 4
12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Online | via Osher Online Portal
$135
Have you ever wondered who writes presidential speeches? This course examines the changes in presidential speechwriting, from the earliest speechwriters in George Washington’s administration to contemporary speechwriters. Yes, Hamilton did help Washington write his Farewell Address. But, no, Lincoln did not write the Gettysburg Address on the back of an envelope. We will examine the process used by a wide range of presidents and look at copies of speechwriting drafts from FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Carter, and George H.W. Bush. We will view video and audio clips from speeches and from former White House speechwriters describing the process. Video introduction:
Diana Carlin, Ph.D., is Professor Emerita of communication at Saint Louis University. For 30 years, she has taught courses on and written about First Ladies. She is the co-author of U.S. First Ladies: Making History and Leaving Legacies and Remember the First Ladies: America’s History-Making Women. Carlin has published articles and book chapters on a variety of First Ladies and researches and writes on the topics of women in politics, presidential communication, and political debate.
OSHER ONLINE ONLY: The Scopes Monkey Trial: Then and Now, with Doug Mishkin
Tuesday, March 31, April 7, 14, 21, 28, and May 5
8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Online | via Osher Online Portal
$135
In July 1925, Clarence Darrow, William Jennings Bryan, and a supporting cast of fascinating characters converged upon Dayton, Tennessee, for what became known as The Scopes Monkey Trial. Religion. Science. Public education. Free speech. Textbooks. Participants fought about all of these for eight days in an epic battle that was broadcast to the nation. One hundred years later, we are still fighting about these same issues. This course will be a deep dive into the trial, including why it was held in Dayton, Tennessee, how Bryan and Darrow got involved, what actually went on in the courtroom, whether Inherit The Wind accurately depicts what occurred, and who won and lost the case. Perhaps most importantly, we will discuss why we should care today. Video introduction:
Doug Mishkin, an experienced trial lawyer, partnered with Americans United for Separation of Church and State to foster dialogue in Dayton, TN, the site of the Scopes Monkey Trial. He has interviewed Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Edward J. Larson (Summer for the Gods), civil rights attorney Fred Gray, and George Washington Law Professor Jeffrey Rosen, president of the National Constitution Center, along with other distinguished lawyers and historians on law, history, and constitutional issues.
OSHER ONLINE ONLY: Comic Book Literature, with Arnold Blumberg
Tuesday, March 31, April 7, 14, 21, 28, and May 5
12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Online | via Osher Online Portal
$135
Comics, the combination of words and pictures to tell stories, has been a part of human communication for far longer than many realize, stretching from cave paintings on stone walls to the Bayeux Tapestry to the latest adventures of Batman and Spider-Man. Comics are an incredibly malleable medium, a literary artform that has too often been limited by the public perception of comics as merely a platform for four-color super-heroics. This course will trace the history of comics as a way of telling intimate and epic stories, exploring social and political issues, and capturing the cultural climate via the deceptive simplicity of panels, word balloons, and lines drawn on paper or displayed on device screens. And yes, we will also take a look at superheroes. Readings will include Understanding Comics, Watchmen, Maus: A Survivor’s Tale, Fun Home, and Persepolis. Video introduction:
Arnold Blumberg, Ph.D., is a publisher, author, artist, and pop culture historian. He has taught courses in media literacy and other cultural topics at the University of Baltimore and other Baltimore colleges. Blumberg spent fifteen years in the comic book industry, curated a pop culture museum, and currently runs his own publishing company, ATB Publishing.
OSHER ONLINE ONLY: A History of Street Art, with Heather Shirey
Wednesday, April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, and May 6
6:00 a.m. - 7:30 a.m.
Online | via Osher Online Portal
$135
Art in the streets (including graffiti, murals, stickers, paste-ups, and other public installations) offers powerful means of expression for marginalized voices, shapes urban environments, and presents competing visions of community life. Unlike art made for museums or the commercial market, street art is often counter-institutional, engaging social issues from critical perspectives. This course examines graffiti and street art in the US and beyond, exploring their histories, motivations, and global connections. Participants will consider the rise of the mural movement, strategies for preserving and presenting street art, its increasing institutionalization, and its potential to foster social change. Video introduction:
Heather Shirey, Ph.D., is a Professor of Art History at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. Her research explores race and identity, migration and diasporas, and the role of monuments, memorials, and street art in shaping public space. As part of the Urban Art Mapping team, she co-created the George Floyd and Anti-Racist Street Art Database. Her work examines how street art documents collective experience and functions as activism, healing, and critical engagement.
OSHER ONLINE ONLY: Great Science Stories, with Johnnie Hendrickson
Thursday, April 9, 16, 23, 30, May 7, and 14
12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Online | via Osher Online Portal
$135
Science is full of surprises. Dyes, accidentally discovered, launched the modern pharmaceutical industry. A failed experiment opened the door to new physics. A geologist studying Earth’s age ended up taking on the oil companies to ban leaded gasoline. These stories remind us that discoveries are never just dry facts. They are moments of creativity, struggle, and chance, with consequences that ripple far beyond the laboratory. In this course, we will explore the human side of science, situating breakthroughs in the context of their times and tracing how they reshaped both knowledge and society. Along the way, we will tour centuries of discovery across biology, chemistry, physics, and more, asking not just what was found, but how it was found, and why it still matters today. Video introduction:
Johnnie Hendrickson is a Teaching Professor in the School of Molecular Sciences at Arizona State University; he holds a Ph.D. in chemistry, and is the author of the textbook “Chemistry in the World.” His academic work focuses on science communication, the reciprocal relationship between science and society.
*OSHER ONLINE ONLY: California Uncovered: A Journey Through Time, Place, and Identity, with Anthony Antonucci
Friday, April 10, 17, 24, May 1, 8, and 15
12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Online | via Osher Online Portal
$135
California is more than a state. It is an idea, a dream, and a contradiction. It is where snow-capped peaks rise above sun-drenched deserts, and where misty coastlines and ancient forests stand alongside cities built on myth, ambition, and reinvention. In this immersive course, we will journey through California’s sweeping history - from its earliest Indigenous cultures and diverse ecosystems to its transformation under Spanish, Mexican, and American rule. We will uncover the people, events, and forces that shaped the Golden State into a global icon of migration, innovation, and cultural change. We will explore the missions, the Gold Rush, the railroad, Hollywood’s allure, and Silicon Valley’s disruptive genius, while also challenging myths and amplifying voices too often left out of mainstream narratives. We will gain a deeper understanding of what it has meant to be Californian across eras, enriching how we experience the state today. Video introduction:
Anthony Antonucci, Ph.D., is a historian whose teaching and scholarship explore the intersections of foreign relations, nationalism, race, and immigration policy in U.S. history since 1750. A Fulbright fellow, Antonucci has also held research appointments at the Massachusetts Historical Society, the American Antiquarian Society, and the University of Connecticut Humanities Institute. He teaches courses in U.S., world, and California history, as well as African American, Latinx, and women’s studies at colleges across Southern California, including Cal Poly Pomona, the University of La Verne, and Citrus College.
OSHER ONLINE ONLY: Frank Lloyd Wright and Modern Architecture, with Jennifer Gray
Tuesday, April 21, 28, May 5, 12, 19, and 26
4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Online | via Osher Online Portal
$135
Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959) was one of the most influential architects of the modern era, designing nearly one thousand buildings over his prolific career. This course surveys the breadth of Wright’s practice, from his iconic Prairie style houses and celebrated works like Fallingwater and the Guggenheim Museum, to lesser-known projects in affordable housing and utopian city planning. Participants will explore how Wright’s designs were shaped by, and responded to, the sweeping cultural shifts of modernism, including the industrial revolution, new technologies, scientific advancements, and progressive social movements. Through visual analysis and historical context, the course offers a deeper understanding of Wright’s enduring impact on American architecture and design. Video introduction:
Jennifer Gray, Ph.D., is vice president of the Taliesin Institute at the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. Her research explores how modern architects used design to advance social change at the turn of the 20th century. She has curated major exhibitions, including Frank Lloyd Wright at 150 at MoMA and The Imperial Hotel at 100, which toured Japan. Gray has taught at Columbia, Cornell, and MoMA, and formerly served as Curator of Drawings and Archives at Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library..